Brihadisvara Temple Thanjavur Tamil Nadu History and Interesting Facts

Brihadisvara Templethanjavur Quick Facts

Brihadisvara Templethanjavur Overview

Brihadeeswarar or Brihadeeswarar Temple is a famous Hindu temple located in Tanjore in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In Tamil language it is known as Brihadisvara. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shivshankar. This temple attracts the attention of people with its beauty, architecture and central dome. Every year lakhs of tourists come from all over the world to see it.

Brihadisvara Templethanjavur History

Rajaraj-1 Chola was the originator of this grand temple. Rajaraja Chola I was the great emperor of the Chola Empire of South India, who ruled here from 985 to 1014. Under his rule, the Cholas extended their empire to Sri Lanka in the south and Kalinga in the north. This temple was built between 1003-1010 AD. Due to his name, it has also been named as Rajarajeshwara Temple. This temple is a masterpiece of the architecture of his reign.

Brihadisvara Templethanjavur Interesting Facts

1. About 1,30,000 tonnes of granite was used in the construction of this temple, while 100 km of the temple is covered. There is no granite quarry at a distance of Rs. This is the first and only temple of its Kind in the world which was built from granite.
2. Its height is about 66 meters (216.535 feet) and is counted among the tallest temples in the world.
3. On entering the temple, you will see a square pavilion built inside the gopuram.
4. There is also an idol of Nandi ji (bull) riding Lord Shiva on the same platform. The length of this statue is 6 meters, width is 2.6 meters and height is 3.7 meters.
5. This is the second largest statue of Nandi Ji built in a single stone in the country.
6. At the top of the temple is a Kumbham (Kalash), which is made of only one stone and weighs 80 tonnes.
7. There is also a huge linga of 8.7 meters in height inside the sanctum.
8. In the inner passage, there are images of Shiva in the form of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Bhikshatana, Virabhadra Karnataka, Natesh, Ardhanarishvara, and Alingana on the walls.
9. The frescoes at the bottom of the inner wall are classic examples from the time of the Chola Empire.
10. This temple has also been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the year 1987.
11. There is also a festival called Krittika in the month of Kartik, besides a nine-day festival in the month of Vaishakh (May) in which a play based on the life of King Rajeshwar was staged.
12. The Reserve Bank of India had issued a note of 1000 rupees on 01 April 1954, on which the grand picture of this Brihadeshwara temple was inscribed.
13. The Government of India had also issued a commemorative coin of 1000 rupees during the Millennium Utsav organized to commemorate the completion of one thousand years of the construction of this Temple in the year 2010. The weight of this coin is 35 grams, which was made by mixing 80 percent silver and 20 percent copper.
14. On one side of this coin, along with a picture of a lion pillar, Satyamev Jayate in Hindi, Bharat, and the amount is written in both Hindi and English languages.
15. On the other side remains the picture of Rajaraja Chola-I, in which he is standing in the temple with folded hands.
16. Another Feature of this temple is that the shadow of the gopuram (pyramid figure which is located at the main entrance of the temple of South India) does not fall on the ground.